Calvin, in his commentary on Psalm 104:14-15 ("He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."), makes the following observation: "In these words we are taught, that God not only provides for men’s necessity, and bestows upon them as much as is sufficient for the ordinary purposes of life, but that in his goodness he deals still more bountifully with them by cheering their hearts with wine and oil. Nature would certainly be satisfied with water to drink; and therefore the addition of wine is owing to God’s superabundant liberality. [. . .] As the prophet in this account of the divine goodness in providence makes no reference to the excesses of men, we gather from his words that it is lawful to use wine not only in cases of necessity, but also thereby to make us merry." What holds true for the fruit of the vine is also true for that of the field--with a little help from His yeast and hops.This evening we began our experiement in home brewing. Sarah and Stephen Sours, those famed brewmeisters from the north side of Durham, came over to direct our efforts (and supply some equipment), and after dinner we rolled up our sleeves to steep the grains, boil the wort and pitch the yeast. Don and I took copious notes and asked many stupid questions. Sarah wasn't too sure about the smell, but by about 10:00 we had a 5 gallon vat filled with what should be, in a little more than a fortnight's time, a lovely English-style nut brown ale.
6 comments:
Thankfully there are predictable results if you follow proven formulas and sanitization techniques.
With an hour of brew time here and a pause there one can get into deep discussions on topics such as Dr. Steinmetz's article on Intelligent Design. I like to consider that topic as expressed in Romans 1: 20-22. "For ever since the creation of the universe his invisible qualities - both his eternal power and his divine nature - have been clearly seen because they can be understood from what he has made. Therefore, they have no excuse; because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened. Claiming to be wise, thehy have become fools!"
May we praise and thank God as we enjoy his bounty through this brew.
Nice, I too am having a few brews tonight while looking over my school work. Hope all is well with you!
Is it guaranteed to be as good as Samuel Smith's Nut Brown?
This is my first batch, so no guarantees. But I've sampled the work of my teachers, and the expectations are high.
Great Calvin quote! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. And, how was the Brew in the end?
Well, I won't know for a bit longer yet. We'll probably bottle it on Wednesday, at which point it will have to age for another 1.5-2 weeks before it's ready to drink. I'll let you know...
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